> it has the grace you'd expect of a 60's housing project in the eastern bloc

Maybe because I'm now writing this comment from inside a 70's housing project in the (former) eastern bloc, but lately (meaning the last 2-3 years) I've seen a re-appraisal of the eastern bloc esthetics.

Apart from these two FB pages (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Socialist-modernism/337958596... and https://www.facebook.com/thecommunisttenant) there are countless Instagram accounts where one can find really interesting photos of the (mostly brutalist) eastern bloc buildings from that era.

For western brutalism, there are also photo-blogs like: http://fuckyeahbrutalism.tumblr.com/

IMO the b/w photography this blog uses does flatter the buildings a bit; in full color in person they don't have quite the same feel.

"Brutalism - for people who like living in unfinished construction sites covered in seeping water damage"

I cheer a little on the inside whenever I see a brutalist building being torn down. There's so very few buildings of the type that are worth anything, and so many of the type that barely last a generation before needing repairs that amount to new construction cost.

I also live a couple blocks from it and the only upside is that it'll eventually block the rusty looking Barclays Center from view. I'd gladly take the old Freddy's back.

I really enjoy the rich tones of the facade: http://www.rew-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Barclay...

Does rust automatically turn people off because of cultural connotations? It's self-finishing, already appears established, and doesn't require maintenance.

Rust doesn't require maintenance? It will keep going until the underlying steel is all gone - not really something you can just let go.

As opposed to aluminum oxide which is self limiting - it only forms a thin layer, then stops.

Barclay is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weathering_steel

I like the material, particularly when it's juxtaposed with nature, but its use on the Barclays Center doesn't do it for me. There's nothing around the structure that relieves it.

Is it cultural? I feel like rust is a fairly universal signal for decay.

Decay is not necessarily a bad thing. I like the aesthetics of rust.

Ah, Freddy's. Let's raise a glass to Bruce Ratner and the glories of eminent domain.